Studies in Social Harm – serie

This unique study of social harm offers a systematic and critical discussion of the nature of environmental harm from an eco-justice perspective, challenging conventional criminological definitions of environmental harm. The book evaluates three interconnected justice-related approaches to environmental harm: environmental justice (humans), ecological justice (the environment) and species justice (non-human animals). It provides a critical assessment of environmental harm by interrogating key concepts and exploring how activists and social movements engage in the pursuit of justice. It concludes by describing the tensions between the different approaches and the importance of developing an eco-justice framework that to some extent can reconcile these differences. Using empirical evidence built on theoretical foundations with examples and illustrations from many national contexts, ‘Environmental harm’ will be of interest to students and academics in criminology, sociology, law, geography, environmental studies, philosophy and social policy all over the world.

This unique study of social harm offers a systematic and critical discussion of the nature of environmental harm from an eco-justice perspective, challenging conventional criminological definitions of environmental harm. The book evaluates three interconnected justice-related approaches to environmental harm: environmental justice (humans), ecological justice (the environment) and species justice (non-human animals). It provides a critical assessment of environmental harm by interrogating key concepts and exploring how activists and social movements engage in the pursuit of justice. It concludes by describing the tensions between the different approaches and the importance of developing an eco-justice framework that to some extent can reconcile these differences. Using empirical evidence built on theoretical foundations with examples and illustrations from many national contexts, ‘Environmental harm’ will be of interest to students and academics in criminology, sociology, law, geography, environmental studies, philosophy and social policy all over the world.

Labour exploitation is a highly topical though complex issue that has international resonance for those concerned with social justice and social welfare, but there is a lack of research available about it. This book, part of the Studies in Social Harm series, is the first to look at labour exploitation from a social harm perspective, arguing that, as a global social problem, it should be located within the broader study of work-based harm. Written by an expert in policy orientated research, he critiques existing approaches to the study of workplace exploitation, abuse and forced labour. Mapping out a new sub-discipline, this innovative book aims to shift power from employers to workers to reduce levels of labour exploitation and work-based harm. It is relevant to academics from many fields as well as legislators, policy makers, politicians, employers, union officials, activists and consumers.

Labour exploitation is a highly topical though complex issue that has international resonance for those concerned with social justice and social welfare, but there is a lack of research available about it. This book, part of the Studies in Social Harm series, is the first to look at labour exploitation from a social harm perspective, arguing that, as a global social problem, it should be located within the broader study of work-based harm. Written by an expert in policy orientated research, he critiques existing approaches to the study of workplace exploitation, abuse and forced labour. Mapping out a new sub-discipline, this innovative book aims to shift power from employers to workers to reduce levels of labour exploitation and work-based harm. It is relevant to academics from many fields as well as legislators, policy makers, politicians, employers, union officials, activists and consumers.

As the percentage of people working in the service economy continues to rise, there is a need to examine workplace harm within low-paid, insecure, flexible and short-term forms of ‘affective labour’. This is the first book to discuss harm through an ultra-realist lens and examines the connection between individuals, their working conditions and management culture.Using data from a long-term ethnographic study of the service economy, it investigates the reorganisation of labour markets and the shift from security to flexibility, a central function of consumer capitalism. It highlights working conditions and organisational practices which employees experience as normal and routine but within which multiple harms occur. Challenging current thinking within sociology and policy analysis, it reconnects ideology and political economy with workplace studies and uses examples of legal and illegal activity to demonstrate the multiple harms within the service economy.

As the percentage of people working in the service economy continues to rise, there is a need to examine workplace harm within low-paid, insecure, flexible and short-term forms of ‘affective labour’. This is the first book to discuss harm through an ultra-realist lens and examines the connection between individuals, their working conditions and management culture.Using data from a long-term ethnographic study of the service economy, it investigates the reorganisation of labour markets and the shift from security to flexibility, a central function of consumer capitalism. It highlights working conditions and organisational practices which employees experience as normal and routine but within which multiple harms occur. Challenging current thinking within sociology and policy analysis, it reconnects ideology and political economy with workplace studies and uses examples of legal and illegal activity to demonstrate the multiple harms within the service economy.

The Greek island of Lesvos is frequently the subject of news reports on the refugee ‘crisis’, but they only occasionally focus on the dire living conditions of asylum seekers already present on the island. Through direct experience as an activist in Lesvos refugee camps and detention centres, Iliadou gives voice to those with lived experiences of state violence. The author considers the escalation of EU border regime and deterrence policies seen in the past decade alongside their present impacts. Asking why the social harm and suffering border crossers experience is normalized and rendered invisible, the book highlights the collective, global responsibility for safeguarding refugees’ human rights.

Available open access digitally under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence.For many children and young people, Britain is a harmful society in which to grow up. This book contextualizes the violence that occurs between a small number of young people within a wider perspective on social harm.Aimed at academics, youth workers and policy makers, the book presents a new way to make sense of this pressing social problem. The authors also propose measures to substantially improve the lives of Britain’s young people in areas ranging from the early years to youth services and the criminal justice system.

Available open access digitally under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence.For many children and young people, Britain is a harmful society in which to grow up. This book contextualizes the violence that occurs between a small number of young people within a wider perspective on social harm.Aimed at academics, youth workers and policy makers, the book presents a new way to make sense of this pressing social problem. The authors also propose measures to substantially improve the lives of Britain’s young people in areas ranging from the early years to youth services and the criminal justice system.

This book links criminological, political, moral, and philosophical issues to offer a deeper understanding of the problem of social harm within the neoliberal environment. Illustrated through case studies, John Gregson shows that social harms are a problem created not only by politics or economics, states or corporations, but also by the individualism that neoliberal societies encourage. He argues that key factors that deepen the problem of social harm include the neoliberal production of ignorance and subjectivity, along with liberal modernity itself.

This powerful book examines the global asbestos industry's devastating impact on health, communities, and ecosystems, exposing how corporations and governments collaborate to silence victims while prioritizing profits. Drawing on research from Brazil and Italy, it reveals how race, gender and social privilege determine which harms are recognized and which are tolerated.Grounded in Black feminist and decolonial thought, the book uses the asbestos industry as a lens to expose colonial male-dictions—narratives that shield powerful actors from accountability. Beyond a story of victims versus corporations, it offers a radical reimagining of state-corporate harm through memory and transformative justice.

This vital book exposes the devastating ways families are treated after their loved ones have been killed by a relatively powerful perpetrator; revealing how families are harmed; silenced by the criminal justice process and invisible in both criminology and the mainstream media. Drawing on landmark cases such as the Grenfell fire, it explores the failures of de-regulation and how institutional perpetrators fail to be held accountable.Centering the voices of secondary victims—those left behind after corporate harm—it highlights the ways in which justice is avoided, and the effect of this on the families. A vital contribution to zemiology and the study of corporate crime, this book confronts the true cost of crimes committed by the powerful.

The beauty industry thrives on creating a sense of dissatisfaction with appearance, with social media adding pressure to conform to idealized images of beauty. This has led to a growing use of products for bodily improvement such as facial injectables and weight loss drugs, which have arguably become increasingly normalized throughout society.This groundbreaking ethnographic study lifts the lid on the dark side of beauty – revealing why young people are willing to inflict self-harm in the pursuit of ‘perfection’ and exploring the motivations for using, buying and selling counterfeit beauty products and services.

The beauty industry thrives on creating a sense of dissatisfaction with appearance, with social media adding pressure to conform to idealized images of beauty. This has led to a growing use of products for bodily improvement such as facial injectables and weight loss drugs, which have arguably become increasingly normalized throughout society.This groundbreaking ethnographic study lifts the lid on the dark side of beauty – revealing why young people are willing to inflict self-harm in the pursuit of ‘perfection’ and exploring the motivations for using, buying and selling counterfeit beauty products and services.

Why are some harms defined as crimes while others are not? This pioneering collection disrupts the boundaries of criminology, offering a bold, innovative exploration of crime, state power and social harm across historical and global contexts. Bridging zemiology, governmentality studies, and decolonial theory, this book offers a fresh perspective on how the colonial roots and ongoing dynamics of global capitalism perpetuate harm, particularly in the Global South. Through compelling case studies on topics such as tourism, drugs, non-human animals, food, ecology, minoritized groups and migration, it reveals how colonial legacies and structural injustices shape who experiences harm, whose experiences are acknowledged - and how harm may be resisted.

Technologies contribute to harms in a variety of ways, but can we ever say they are harmful in-and-of-themselves?This book offers a new way to understand how technologies, while not intrinsically harmful, are laden with values and dispositions that can contribute to negative outcomes. Building on insights from postphenomenology, realist social theory and the philosophy of action, it provides a framework for examining technology-harm relations: relations with technology that are harmful by virtue of what they contribute to bringing about. It is for anyone seeking to design, regulate, research or simply use technology in a way that prioritizes well-being.

While the notion of social harm has long interested critical criminologists it is now being explored as an alternative field of study, which provides more accurate analyses of the vicissitudes of life. However, important aspects of this notion remain undeveloped, in particular the definition of social harm, the question of responsibility and the methodologies for studying harm. This book, the first to theorise and define the social harm concept beyond criminology, seeks to address these omissions and questions why some capitalist societies appear to be more harmful than others. In doing so it provides a platform for future debates, in this series and beyond. It will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers across criminology, sociology, social policy, socio-legal studies and geography.